Diver’s close encounter with a school of sharks caught on camera

By Jamie Smith via SWNS

This diver's close encounter with an incredible school of lemon sharks is a must-watch for all lovers of marine life.

Photographer Troy Iloski, 55, is well known for his encounters with sharks and has filmed hundreds of them over the years.

He has even been known to 'hypnotize' the predators and put them into a trance.

This new footage shot over two days is no exception as Troy's incredible video shows him getting up close and personal with the sharks in their natural habitat.

The first video, shot between West Palm Beach Florida and Grand Bahama Island, shows hundreds of sharks coming from all directions.

Divers even helped remove hooks from the shark's mouths.

The second is shot at Tiger Beach, Florida and shows a curious lemon shark getting almost too close for comfort to Troy and his camera.

Troy, a scuba instructor, underwater photographer and shark conservationist, said: "I started diving as a kid back in Macedonia where I was born.

"In 1989 I moved to the United States and I am still diving today at age of 55, in many places around the world.

"This started in South Florida. That day we went out on an offshore adventure in search of pelagic sharks. In between West Palm Beach Florida and Grand Bahama Island, we stopped in the deep waters over the Continental Shelf of North America.

"As soon as we chummed the water, sharks showed up immediately. We jumped in the water with a chum bucket and free diving gear, no scuba tanks.

"It was a couple of hours of very exciting hard pounding action. Hundreds of sharks coming from all directions. We managed to remove a few fish hooks from the shark's mouths too.

"The second short video clip is from Tiger Beach. Tiger beach is a shallow sandbar Northeast of Grand Bahama Island, between Florida and the Bahamas.

"The depth is around 30 feet and is in the middle of the Gulf Stream, also known as Shark Alley.

"Rich in biodiversity of flora and fauna in the surrounded reefs, providing food for many different species of sharks."

"The most common sharks found in Tiger Beach are lemon sharks, tiger sharks, reef sharks and occasional hammerhead sharks.

"On the video clip it’s a large lemon shark trying to take a bite of my camera."